Fingertip Revelation

Adam, Seth, Enosh, Cainan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah… 1 Chronicles 1:1-4a

Genealogy Smeen-ealogy

Not to many Christians [I know] get excited over Bible genealogies. Aside from picking out the names we know and the subsequent Bible stories we can relate to, for the most part we tend to find ancestral accounts, well in a word, boring. We might liken the experience to looking through a friend’s family photo album for the umpteenth time. We smile; we’re polite, but the reality is that we want to see images of ourselves.

If that’s you, then you have probably loathed (in a ‘It’s-okay-God-knows-my-true-heart’ kinda way) much of Genesis and these first nine chapters of First Chronicles. I’m hearing ya—I feel your pain. However, if we prudently elect to pause and graze in this genealogical field, we might deliciously discover the remarkable. Consider the first ten men of the Bible recorded here in 1 Chronicles 1 and in Genesis 5: Adam, Seth, Enosh, Cainan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, and good ol’ Noah.

We know that Biblical names have meanings. Adam you might already know means, ‘man’, but are you aware of the meanings of these other names? Did you know that Seth’s name means ‘appointed’, Enosh means ‘subject to death’, Cainan means ‘sorrowful’, Mahalalel means ‘from the presence of God’, Jared means ‘one comes down’, Enoch means ‘dedicated’, Methuselah means ‘dying he shall send’, Lamech means ‘to the poor brought very low’, and that Noah means ‘comfort or rest’?

“So what,” you say.

An Intriguing Revelation, That’s What

If you haven’t done so already, put the meanings together in the order they appear. What do we discover? The entire Gospel message, that’s all!

Man, appointed; subject to death; sorrowful. From the presence of God, One comes down; dedicated. Dying He shall send to the poor brought low comfort and rest.

See your image? Suddenly genealogies aren’t so boring now, are they?

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These ramblings are typically (but not always) a byproduct inspired by God through my personal Bible study at SearchLight with Pastor Jon Courson

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Christ Concealed, Christ Revealed

He opened the rock, and water gushed out; It ran in the dry places like a river… Psalm 105:41Desert PassagesLet’s face it, some portions of the Bible are dry and seemingly, most of those barren places generally appear in the Old Testament—particularly in those endless genealogies. What is God trying to say? Do these passages have any meaning or purpose? Is there something lying beneath the surface? Should I take the time to scrape a little deeper?

I am happy to tell you that the Lord is trying to tell us something, these verses do have meaning and purpose, that there is good stuff just beneath the surface, and yes, if we take some time to scratch and graze in dry places we will find life-giving water. To demonstrate the point I would ask you to consider the genealogy found in Genesis 5:1-32. Okay, thirty-two verses is too much aridness to start with, so here is the summary…

And Adam…begot Seth… (who)… begot Enosh…(who)…begot Cainan…(who)…begot Mahalalel…(who)…begot Jared… (who)…begot Enoch…(who)…begot Methuselah…(who)…begot Lamech… (who)…had a son. And he called his name Noah…

We certainly recognize some of those names: Adam the first man, Enoch who left the planet abruptly, Noah of ‘Noah’s Ark’ fame, and Jared the Subway guy. But what else is God trying to tell us? I will give you a hint…

What Does YOUR Name Mean?

While we do not rely so much on the meaning of our names, these guys relied on theirs. Not only do these names have meaning, their names were inspired by the Father for a specific purpose. First, here is what each name means (and in the order that they appear in the Bible):

1. Adam = man
2. Seth = appointed
3. Enosh = subject to death
4. Cainan = sorrowful
5. Mahalalel = from the presence of God
6. Jared = One comes down
7. Enoch = dedicated
8. Methuselah = dying He shall send
9. Lamech = to the poor brought very low
10. Noah = rest/comfort

So What is the Purpose

We are talking revelation ladies and gentlemen. When we put the meanings of all these names together in the exact order that they appear in the Scripture, we are left with an early Old Testament Gospel message. It reads like a poem from Heaven…

Man, appointed (and) subject to death (and) sorrowful. (From) the presence of God, One comes down, dedicated. Dying, He shall send to the poor brought very low, rest (and) comfort.

Did that give you a chill? It gave me one—and I knew it was coming! Scripture, every single word abounds in meaning and is recorded for a precise reason, for it was designed by our Creator. If in seeking Him we are diligent, He will be faithful to reveal Himself.

He turns a wilderness into pools of water, And dry land into watersprings. Psalms 107:35

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